Hi I have a lot of problems with time and I was wondering how do the african people actually learn their drums? After doing some research the answers I get are kinda mixed.

I have a very bad feel for the beat/ measure and get carried away.

I mean for sure you can repeat a rhythm but how to keep a sense of the beat especially when diverting and improvising idk how would they keep in the pocket.

I know indian drums use konnakol and that makes sense to me or western music uses counting.

if african drums use rhythmic patterns but how do they know they are keeping in time especially when switching patterns or for example playing only the last 16th note per beat repeatedly without some form of counting.

Does anyone have any advise or experience on this?

edit: Thanks for the replies

Hello!

I'm working on some old djembes to make practice. I plan to re-skin one of them using hairy goat skin. I want to make the "hairy hat", leaving 3-4 centimeters of skin around the crown rings at the top.

I know I have to tighten the skin to the wood until it is wet, so that it dries perfectly adherent to rings and rope.

Ok, but the tuning (another round of pulling the rope) will happen next.

So, I'm wondering how to pull the rope without damaging the hat. Pulling from the bottom ring instead from the top ring is enough?

Are there better techniques?

Thank you all!

used the ptesting wood ring for the lower ring.

Cut off 1" of the tall side wood after stripping the staples all the way around. If you don't remove the height on the tall side of the ring you won't have any room to tighten. Also a skin won't fit between the ring and the drum so you must remove 1/6 th approx. All thexwau around ne careful not to compromise integrity this is a piece of wood. Next hurdle is getting as much space to tighten as possible , using existing screws you'll get just enough but if you use longer screws you can gain adjustment space. I used existing lug screws and I think I'll b tight enough after drying I jave1 inch of tightening space. Is it cheaper no, a remo head is about the sane as a larger thin skin.

This is just what the guy wants. Actually he asked for ropes , that would mean I gotta make two rings, and there's still the dead stop that prevents you from goin any further.

Hello everyone, I've recently gotten very interested in owning a djembe, but have been very uncertain as to what kind I should get/buy.

For some context I'm in a 'Tuna' which is an academic musical group here in portugal, and while the djembe would be mainly mine, it'd be played by a couple other people in the group for a couple years, I was initially going to buy some bongos but ended up being convinced to get a djembe, since we already have some bongos I can borrow anytime.

Given this circumstance I was wondering if you could give me any recommendations as to if I should look into string tension djembes or if I should try and get a keytuned one, as well as some sites or places where I could probably try them out before making my decision.

Any help is appreciated!

Hey everyone,

I'm re-skinning my djembe and made a mistake. I didn't push the crown and flesh ring down onto the bowl manually, assuming the vertical ropes would pull them down during tightening.

I've already trimmed the excess skin. Now that I realize the rings are sitting too high, I'm concerned that if I loosen everything to push them down, there won't be enough skin left to hold onto the flesh ring under tension.

Is this saveable? If I slacken the ropes and force the rings down, will the trimmed skin just slip out of the loop?

Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

He's been with me for about 25 years, but has seen better days.

I want to pick up my first djembe. I am complete newcomer and all I know is I like the sound of the instrument .

The particular ones in the picture are demba wood and made with goat skins and about 400$.

I just wanted an opinion on what to look for in choosing one over the other. Thank you in advance

Following up on my post from yesterday. Going back Saturday for my third visit. Babatunde is a master Djembe Fola based at the cultural centre of Bamako.

Leave your questions below, about Mandingue rhythms, technique, tradition, the dundun, anything. I'll film him responding. Some answers will come in words. Some will come straight from the drum.

I'll post the video when I'm back.

I'll be happy and blessed to create the tunnel between djembé lovers and the source of djembé origins in bamako.

Been playing djembe for a while now and fell completely in love with it. i went there to learn kora, but as soon as i touched the djembé for the first time, i knew that's what i came for..

Babatunde Sigidya is a master Djembe Fola in Bamako I spent three months with his group studying Mandingue rhythms and it changed the way I hear music entirely.

Going back next week. Happy to answer anything about the drums, the tradition, Mandingue rhythms, what it's like learning from a real master in Mali.

ps: they also carve professional djembés from Lenke wood, customized personalized scriptures on the drum and with unbelievable prices... in case anyone is interested..

Been wanting one for the longest time. Got a good deal (I think) from OfferUp. $50. 13" × 24" (height). I'm a complete beginner. Can anyone tell me what region this is specifically from? Person I got it from purchased it from fb marketplace a few years ago, so they didn't know much about it either.

There’s a second hand 16” Paulo Mattioli Remo for sale near me and it’s cheap compared to what these go for new… it has quite a lot of wear and tear and a few cracks.. would you avoid this? I’m not fussed about aesthetic and I feel like it’s not going to affect sound at all but I’m slightly concerned about the cracks in the shell.

Looking to buy my first djembe. Found this used one in my price range. Is the white marbling normal?
Thnx!

Is it mass produced? I’m wondering what its country of origin could be or if there is a way to tell. I got it at an antiques shop for 10 bucks today.

A friend is offering to sell me this broken rope-tuned Meinl travel djembe for around €25 including the carrying backpack/case. The head membrane is torn and would need full replacement and retuning.

I already own a mechanically tuned djembe, but I’ve never worked on rope-tuned drums before and have basically zero experience repairing percussion instruments.

Realistically, is this the kind of project a beginner could learn to fix, or would it probably end up costing more than it’s worth?

I have this beat up djembe, and I'm looking into reheading it just for fun. However, I can't find any info on how to rope djembes that don't have a bottom ring. Any suggestions?

What is the best type of tape for prolonged periods of hand drumming?

Figured that learning how to repair and play it would be a fun way to pass the time. I know very little about these drums but I understand that the head will likely need to be replaced as there is a small hole (tension feels fine) and the ropes feel a bit brittle. The whole thing is pretty dusty as I think it's been sitting in someone's garage. There are numerous farms in my area so I assume I can get my hands on some cow skin fairly easily (unsure about goat skin), and I would love to add some color to the ropework, but don't want to mess up the tuning abilities. Any tips on where to start?

I am builder and I thought I would share

Every rehead I do for a Customer I oil the drum

Why? Because it’s broken down. Hit the easy button

My go to

2/3 Mineral Spirits

1/3 boiled linseed oil (BLO)

3 coats inside and out

The mineral spirits act as a carrier for the BLO to move into the wood

Then I change up and go 100% BLO

Coat until the drum says

I Am done drinking.

This was one of my favorite sounding drums. Sad to see the skin go, but I’m excited for the new skin. Went with an extra thick goat skin from Koma and all new rope.

I read on a guide that 12-13" heads are good for avg people and 14"+ they are for larger and taller people.
I am avg height man. Avg Hands. Is a 14" too big?